Dodge City times., 1887-04-14
ough sod. Th--

tough sod. TIL
the annu"' -ey are treeless, because
of - --.l burning off of the grass kills
me young twigs of starting trees:
1 Along water courses, where the ground
and herbage are too moist for fire to
run over them; and especially where
wild animals gather to drink, and eat
down the grass too low to burn, the
trees are able to grow, in belts of var
liable widths. With these exceptions,
the swift moving flames destroy all
above the surface, but are not intense
enough, or do not tarry long enough
to destroy the grass roots. The ashes
of the burned grass act as manure to
keep up the annual growth in full
vigor. On the more western plains,
where there is less rainfall, the grass is
shorter, and we have the gramma, or
buffalo grass. The thick roots and the
trampings of countless herds of buffalo
and other animals, for thousands Of
years, have SO compact the native sod
that it is of leather texture. tits very
seldom found with an entirely level sur
face. As consequence, the rain that
falls, not in gentle drizzling showers,
but in violent dashes, as .bove explain
ed, runs off over the surface into the
"draws' or depressions, and flows
oceanward. The soil gets very little of
it.
| WHAT THE PLOW DOES.
But when the farmer come in, and
| cuts the tough sod, the rains sink in,
and are retained. They rise up to sup
ply the roots of plants. By their slow
evaporation they moisten the lower air
near the surface. On the cooling of
the soil at night, this moisture is con-
densed or given out as dew. When
few square miles are thus broken,
enough evaporated water moistens the
air tv considerable hight. Then the
meeting of moderate currents of cold
and warm air at frequent intervals pro-
duce gentle showers, all Of which are
absorbed by the soil. The covering Of
the surface with crops, shrubbery, ETC.,
diminishes the violence Of the winds,
which in turn lessons the number of
violent "sheet' storms; and SO it is that
the cultivation of region gradually
CHANGES THE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
or the meteorology. While science ex-
plains how this is effected, observation
shows the results. We see these very
plainly in Nebraska and kansas. The chan
ges within the last twenty years are sim
ply wonderful. Last evening, gentle
man formely judge in the higher State
courts, said to the writer: [ was always
an ardent admirer of Charles Sumner,
and when they named the county that
bears his name, L felt it to be an insult
to give his name to such dry, barren,
desolate section of the State Why, at
that time: l would not have taken a
farm there as gift. Yet to-day 1t is
one of the banner agricultural counties
of the State. This is one sample out
| Of hundred in these two States.
| CULTURE BRlNGS WATER CP.
An interesting point with respect to
all cultivated soils, particularly very dry
ones, is the supply of water coming from
below, and how it may be increased.
| AS will probably be shown in future
letter, it is often found that very arid
soils, which can only be brought into
use by large supplies Of irrigating water,
afterwards require very little, and in
course of years, none at all. in some
| seasons. In one place we visited, in
California, the water that was at first
| thought to be in too small quantity for
few hundred acres, is now ample for
| many thousands. This is a matter Of
much interest in the valley of
the Arkansas River, Kansas,
where extensive irrigation op-
erations are in progress, or projected.
The fear is expressed by some that the
supply of water in the river will not be
sufficient, in the dry season, to meet all
the demands upon it. We may show
how irrigating increases the supply of
water from below But passing this
over for the time being, let us look at
the effect Of cultivation in the same dir
ection. To make this clear to the non
scientific reader, we will write little
of an interesting fact that will help to
the comprehension of the subject.
"CAPILLARY ACTION EXPLAINED.
This term often called "Capillary At
traction" is frequently used in agricul-
tural writings. 1t refers to an oper-
alton of practical interest to farmers and
other cultivators generally. "Capillary
action means that force which causes
water, or other liquids, to rise up
through very small tubes or other very
narrow openings, as through the inter
stices or spaces between the particles
of soil.-The Latin word 'tcapillus
means hair A ''capillary tube" is
one having hair-like opening through
it. If we take several small glass tubes
from the size of a quill down to those
so minute that hair will hardly enter
the opening, and set these in dish of
fluid colored so as to be better observed,
We will see the liquid rise in the small
est tube for a long distance. In the
novt IarUor tuho If will not rico en- biph